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FedEx Archives: 2000 Press Releases

( BW)(TN-FEDEX)(FDX) FedEx Makes Returning Online Purchases Simpler and More Convenient This Holiday Season; Web-Based Labels, Drop-Off Network Promise to Improve Shopping Experience

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    MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2000--FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) today unveiled major innovations to the FedEx Express package-returns system, improving customer service for businesses, including e-tailers, and adding convenience for their customers.
    Debuting in November - just in time for the holidays - enhancements to the FedEx NetReturn(R) solution help businesses further streamline the returns process. Consumers can also print package-return labels from their personal computers. Introduced three years ago, FedEx NetReturn was the industry's first package-return technology and today it is widely used by many businesses.
    "Returns satisfaction is important to retain customers, and our new online label-printing feature makes this a very simple and convenient step for both businesses and consumers," David Roussain, vice president of electronic commerce marketing for FedEx, said. "Because each label contains all the information necessary to initiate a return quickly and easily, businesses can process their returns more efficiently and consumers benefit by receiving their credits even faster."
    From a business using FedEx NetReturn, customers can request and receive an online return label that can be printed and attached to a package. The package can then be conveniently dropped off at any of 44,000 FedEx Express U.S. locations. A FedEx NetReturn locator links customers to the FedEx Express Web site (www.fedex.com), where a zip code can be entered to generate a list of drop-off locations, including maps; locations are also accessible through the company's 1-800-Go-FEDEX voice-response system.
    If an end customer prefers FedEx NetReturn's original dispatch service feature, a package return can be initiated by simply contacting the merchant's customer service department, which quickly begins the return process. A FedEx Express courier then picks up the package at the customer's convenience, attaches the return label and ships the package to the location of the merchant's choice.

    Advantages for Businesses

    FedEx NetReturn is scalable and integrates into a business's computer network to:


--	Improve customer service by simplifying, automating and streamlining the returns process;
--	Allow e-tailers to manage returns from their Web site and integrate key back-end systems of the returns process;
--	Increase operating efficiency of returns management;
--	Put customer data at e-tailers' fingertips through electronic integration;
--	Eliminate the need to install expensive hardware or software because the returns- management system is Internet-based;
--	Improve a retailer's ability to quickly retrieve returned merchandise and resell.

    Advantages for End Consumers

    For consumers, FedEx NetReturn advantages include:

    -- Online label printing;

    -- More convenient options for customers to initiate returns;

    -- Instant online listing of 44,000 FedEx Express drop-off
    locations;

    -- Real-time online tracking visibility;

    -- Connection to the reliable and fast FedEx Express
    transportation and information network;

    -- Faster account crediting for returned merchandise.

    For Dallas-based GearUpExpress, which uses FedEx Express to ship golf clubs worldwide from more than 500 golf courses, FedEx NetReturn offers the technology to ensure fast, reliable delivery for professional and amateur golfers alike.
    "It works great for us because once we get an order from a customer, we are able to quickly go online and generate our own label that is loaded into the FedEx Express system," GearUpExpress President Lloyd Hughes said. "The new FedEx NetReturn enhancements allow us to further automate our system for an even higher level of service for golfers at some of the finest courses."
    In the growing landscape of e-tailing, the FedEx companies remain uniquely positioned to help e-tailers meet their critical business commitments to customers. The growing portfolio of FedEx services, backed by global, industry-leading technology and distribution networks, offers retailers and consumers alike the chance to avoid many of the service shortfalls that plagued online shopping last season.
    FedEx is already gearing up its global distribution network to support what is expected to be another banner holiday season for retailers. In recent months the company has also rolled out new services that further connect customers to the fast-cycle world of e-commerce, including FedEx(R) eCommerce Builder, which enables small- and medium-size businesses to quickly and affordably create Web stores that are integrated with FedEx shipping and tracking capability.
    With annual revenues of $19 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, logistics, e-commerce and supply-chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including: FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, North America's second-largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Logistics, an integrated logistics, technology and transportation-solution company; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information technology and trade-facilitation solutions. More than 2.5 million customers are connected electronically through the FedEx information network and approximately two-thirds of its U.S. domestic transactions are now handled online.

    HOLIDAY SHOPPING AND SHIPPING: FACTS & FIGURES

    LOOKING BACK AT 1999

    -- Consumers spent $7 billion shopping online in 1999 (Jupiter).

    -- The top reasons for dissatisfaction with online shopping
    during the 1999 holiday mirrored the 1998 season: out-of-stock
    products, shipping and handling costs, and slow site
    performance. Not only did the factors remain the same from the
    previous year, but the number of online buyers citing them as
    sources of dissatisfaction increased dramatically (Jupiter).

    -- Nearly 90 percent of 9,800 online shoppers surveyed by
    BizRate.com said they consider an e-tailer's return policy to
    be the determining factor in whether they will continue to do
    business with the merchant (E-Commerce Times).

    -- Online consumers place a higher value on easy returns (40
    percent), customer service (37 percent) and product selection
    (37 percent). An overwhelming 85 percent of online buyers said
    the ability to return merchandise easily is important to them,
    but more than half remain dissatisfied with the process
    (Jupiter).

    -- Planning back-end delivery issues could have eased last year's
    e-tailing problems. Without a solid back-end infrastructure,
    merchants risk alienating new and tenured customers, forego
    repeat purchases and jeopardize future sales and profitability
    (Jupiter).

    WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2000 AND BEYOND

    -- North America will continue to be the global e-commerce leader
    - contributing nearly $3.5 trillion in online
    business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales in 2004
    (Forrester).

    -- Online shoppers will spend almost $20 billion this holiday
    season. Online spending in North America is expected to
    increase by 69.9 percent, from $6.31 billion to $10.72
    billion. North Americans are expected to generate 54 percent
    of this year's holiday online shopping. (E-Commerce Times)

    -- Shoppers will spend $61.1 billion at North American Internet
    sites this year, an 85 percent increase over last year
    (Bloomberg News).

    -- The year 2000 will mark a milestone in electronic retailing as
    online penetration rates for some categories - notably
    computers and books - exceed 10 percent (Bloomberg News).

    -- U.S. online users will account for 75 percent of all expected
    U.S. retail spending (both online and off-line) in 2005, up
    from 43 percent in 1999 (Jupiter).

    -- Jupiter - The worldwide authority on Internet commerce
    provides strategic analysis and insight of industry
    trends, accurate forecasts and today's best practices, all
    backed by proprietary data.

    -- Forrester - A leading independent research firm that
    analyzes the future of technology change and its impact on
    businesses, consumers, and society.

    --30--KO/na*

    CONTACT: FedEx Media Relations, Memphis
             Jim McCluskey, 901/395-4768
             http://www.fedex.com

    KEYWORD: TENNESSEE TEXAS
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TRANSPORTATION AIRLINES INTERNET E-COMMERCE
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